The embroidery is underway! (My design inspiration can be found in an earlier post here http://awanderingelf.weebly.com/1/category/12th%20night/1.html )
I can do hand embroidery, but often do not choose too. Part of the reason is an issue I have with my hands, though I can still sew by hand for short spells at a time. The larger issue though, is with my head. ;-)
See, I am a perfectionist about the things that I make and while I love the look of hand sewing and hand embroidery, my hand work does not live up to my own expectations.
Yes, I know, practice makes perfect, but I also have a hard time sitting around making "practice pieces" just for the heck of it. If I spend time on it I want to use it, right?
I can do hand embroidery, but often do not choose too. Part of the reason is an issue I have with my hands, though I can still sew by hand for short spells at a time. The larger issue though, is with my head. ;-)
See, I am a perfectionist about the things that I make and while I love the look of hand sewing and hand embroidery, my hand work does not live up to my own expectations.
Yes, I know, practice makes perfect, but I also have a hard time sitting around making "practice pieces" just for the heck of it. If I spend time on it I want to use it, right?
At some point though, I decided to get over myself and do what hand work I could. Ironically, the more I do, the less I feel it needs to be visually perfect. I am starting to love the more organic nature of handwork and to me it now looks more real.
For this piece, the pattern was drawn first on paper and I had indended to use a transfer paper to shift the design to the fabric. Unfortunately, my transfer sheets eluded me. Instead, I took a pin, poked a series of holes along the design line, laid it on the fabric and drew over it with a chalk pencil. After removing the stencil, I sketched over my lines and started stitching.
Stitches used here are chain, split and stem (all worked in Renaissance Dyeing's crewel wool).
For this piece, the pattern was drawn first on paper and I had indended to use a transfer paper to shift the design to the fabric. Unfortunately, my transfer sheets eluded me. Instead, I took a pin, poked a series of holes along the design line, laid it on the fabric and drew over it with a chalk pencil. After removing the stencil, I sketched over my lines and started stitching.
Stitches used here are chain, split and stem (all worked in Renaissance Dyeing's crewel wool).
For one of the BEST sewing tools every, rush out now and buy yourself one of these! A talented friend recommended this to me a couple of years ago and I cannot imagine how I lived so long with out it!
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